Can Vertigo Be A Side Effect Of Medicine

 The room was was in motion, including the floor I was trying to stand on.  Other people though were perfectly fine. I felt like throwing up.”
This is a description from a vertigo sufferer.  For the past few months, she was going through these types of events.
A medical professional advised that vertigo was the problem.  In simple terms, vertigo is a feeling of instablity or movement of objects or the individual even though the environment is in fact still or stable.
Vertigo is actually a symptom rather than a disease.  Problems or disorders with the structures of the ear are common causes of vertigo (peripheral vestibular system.)
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common peripheral disorder.  It is usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting, perspiration, hearing loss, impaired cognitive abilities and may come about with no warning.
Another peripheral disorder is Mnires Syndrome.  It is not as common but just as distressing including many of the same symptoms.  It does not tend to affect the person as suddenly, rather a gradual “fullness” in the ear my initiate the episode followed by ringing and even hearing loss.
Vertigo and impaired hearing may build and then decrease over several hours, but like BPPV, the person suffering often needs to rest for a few hours before gaining any relief.
The client described above sought treatment which resulted in additional negative effects.  Her symptoms then increased and even worsened.
While having her blood pressure taken a couple of visits later, the medical assistant passively mentioned that the type of hypertension medication she was taking was known to result in vertigo.
She was stunned.  She was also rather upset that this particular side effect was never mentioned when she was prescribed the medication.
Other drugs in addition to those that treat high blood pressure can cause both short term and long term vertigo.  Some over the counter cold remedies as well as various antibiotics and anticonvulsants are also connected to either temporary or even permanent dizziness or vertigo.
Although a very frustrating situation, recall that most doctors tend to turn to medication when treating high blood pressure.